Dania To Consider Ban On Flights

February 19, 1986|By Patti Roth, Staff Writer

DANIA — In an effort to reduce air traffic over the city following a fatal plane crash last week, city commissioners are to consider requesting a ban on training flights that take light planes on a rectangular path over Dania.

The meeting Tuesday between the City Commission and officials from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was prompted by the crash Friday of a Cessna 340 in an empty section of the Dania Jai-Alai Fronton parking lot.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash, which killed the plane`s two occupants.

Although the plane may not have been on a training flight, it was following the standard flight pattern used for training flights and other planes taking off or landing on the southernmost east-west runway, said Tim Campbell, Broward County`s aviation director.

Campbell told city commissioners he considers that flight pattern -- partially over Dania -- safe. He said he does not believe the accident was related to any problems with airport operations, such as air traffic management or flight patterns.

However, Mayor John Bertino said he wants the City Commission to ask airport officials to ban training flights over Dania as one way of reducing the amount of air traffic over the city.

He requested the City Commission consider such a resolution at its next meeting.

The prospect of banning or rerouting training flights probably will be considered anyway as the airport`s consultants prepare a master plan for the future, Campbell said.

Representatives from Dania will be asked to serve on a citizen`s committee that participates in the preparation of the plan, Campbell said.

The number of training flights at the airport, as well as those of other light non-commercial airplanes, is decreasing while the number of commerical carrier flights is increasing, Campbell said.

Ken Wallach, the airport`s air traffic manager, said the number of training flights out of the airport varies from day to day but averages less than 20.

Previously, residents have expressed concern about another source of air traffic over the city -- the irregular use of an alternate northwest-southeast runway that sends aircraft over residential sections of the city shortly after takeoff.